Bottom rail for venetian blinds



April 3, 1951 F. J. BURNS BOTTOM RAIL FOR VENETIAN BLINDS Filed Nov. 22,1947 (F5 M j,/&

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ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 3, 1951 BOTTOM RAILFOR VENETIAN BLINDS Fred J.Burns, Saginaw, Mich., assignor to The Columbia Mills, Inc., New York,N. ,Y.

- ApplicationNovember 22, 1947,.S8tidlNQ/78'li555 1 Claim. (Cl. 160-478)This invention relates to Venetian blinds,-and

more specifically to the bottom rail construction wherein the railishollow and formed ofmetal .to harmonize with the metal slats of theblind.

.One' of the prime objects of the invention is to provide a rigid,neat-appearing metal bottom rail, which harmonizes with the blind slats,and to which the conventional lift cords, ladder tapes and sway stopscan be very easily and quickly attached and detached.

Another object is to design a bottom rail that can be readily andeconomically manufactured and assembled, which can be formed to anydesired commercial length, and then cut to fit the specified length ofthe Venetian blind desired, and the cut ends then plugged with closefitting members on which the sway stops or other hardware may bemounted.

A further object of the invention is to provide "a hollow bottom rail inwhich cord pulleys (when used) may be mounted and concealed from view,and to which the lift cords may be releasably connected.

Still a further object is to provide means for clipping the ladder tapeto the side walls of the bottom rail so that the tape will closely hugthe side walls and eliminate any unsightly gape when the blind is swungto tilted position.

A further object still is to design a bottom rail which is relativelyinexpensive to manufacture, and in which the lift cord attaching meansand ladder tape securing means are formed integral with said rail.

The above and other objects will appear as the specification progresses,reference being had to the accompanying drawing in which like referencenumerals indicate like parts through the several views thereof.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary, front-elevational view of the lower end of aVenetian blind showing my bottom rail associated therewith.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, plan view of one of the slats.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, edge-elevational view showing the manne ofclipping the ladder tape to theside walls of the bottom, rail.

Fig. 4 is an end-elevational view of the bottom rail showing the pluggedend.

Fig. 5 is a transverse-sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is an isometric view illustrating the manner of anchoring thelift cord to the bottom rail.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing in which I have shown thepreferred embodi- :ment of my invention- ZI'he blind comprisesspaced-apart ladder ,tapes I0 which include a number of verticallyspaced cross webs (not shown) upon which the slats ll rest, and whichcan be formed of wood or metal as desired, and .a bottom rail B formsthe lower end of the blind, and to which the ends of the ladder tape H!are releasably secured in any desired manner.

This bottom rail is formed of relatively light gauge metal, the lowersection l2 being substantially U-shaped in cross section, the upperedges of which are turned as shown to form flanges I4, and a top plate15 is fitted over the open upper end of the U-shaped section, the edgesI6 being turned and pressed into interlocking engagement with the flangesections M of the bottom member I2 to form a rigid construction, andthese members can be formed in any desired commercial length and arethen cut to length to suit the blind desired.

Relatively short plugs I1 are pressed into the end sections of the railand serve to reinforce and form a smooth end and also provide aconvenient mounting for other hardware (not shown).

No means is shown for anchoring the ladder tape to the bottom rail, asthis forms the subject matter of a separate application.

Longitudinally disposed spaced-apart clips I8 are pressed and formedfrom the side walls of the bottom rail, these clips being locateddirectly adjacent the upper edge of the structure, and the edges of thetape l0 are inserted beneath said clips, all as clearly shown in Fig. 3of the drawing, so that as the blind is tilted, the tapes will be heldtightly against the side wall, and not gape as would occur if noretaining means were provided.

The lift cords [9 are of the conventional type, and extend throughvsuitable openings (not shown) in the blind slats, an opening 20 beingprovided in the upper plate l5 of the bottom rail B, said openingcommunicating with a relatively smaller opening 2|, with a restrictedneck passage 22 connecting the openings, so that when the knot 23 istied on the end of the lift cord and inserted through the opening 20,the cord can then be shifted horizontally through the passage 22 andinto the small opening 2| from which it cannot be accidentallydisplaced, as the diameter of said opening is substantially the same asthe cord; consequently, the knotcannot be pulled through, butlongitudinal shifting of the cord permits easy and quick attachment orremoval when desired.

The turning of the edges of the upper plate produces a thin projectingedge that blends and harmonizes with the metal slats either in open orbundled position.

From the foregoing description, it will be understood that I haveprovided a very simple, and rigid bottom rail structure which can bereadily and economically manufactured of metal, the ends of which canbeclosed and finished by plugs pressed in place, the hollow bodyproviding space for anchoring and concealing the ends of the lift cords,tapes, pulleys, etc., as well as providing space for ready mounting ofconventional brackets or sway stops (not shown) when desired.

The invention may be carried out in other specific ways than thoseherein set forth without departing from the spirit and essentialcharacteristics of the invention, and the present embodiments aretherefore to be considered in all aspects as illustrative and notrestrictive, and any changes coming Within the meaning and equivalencyrange of the appended claim are intended to be embraced therein.

What I claim is: In a bottom rail assembly for Venetian blinds,

'a metal bottom rail, substantially U-shaped in cross section, andformed with outwardly projecting flanges on the upper ends of the sideWalls, a top strip forming a closure for the open top of the bottom railwith its edges turned in interlocking engagement with said flanges toform a thin, laterally projecting rib simulating the edge of a Venetianblind slat, opposed clips pressed in the side walls of the bottom railfor engaging and holding the blind ladder tape against said walls, andplugs pressed into and flush with the ends of the rail to reinforce saidbottom rail and form a mounting surface for conventional hardware.

FRED J. BURNS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent! UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 776,556 Sibley etal. Dec. 6, 1904 2,260,726 Rosenbaum Oct. 28, 1941 2,421,505 Hunter June3, 1947 26 2,502,028 Rosenbaum Mar. 28, 1950

